The Acute Care Surgery Initiative

Abstract

Acute Care Surgery describes a new surgical practice paradigm and a surgical training curriculum. This article will highlight the history and driving forces behind this initiative, describe the training curriculum and its requirements, and discuss the practice and setting of a surgeon trained in this area of expertise. While there are no new technical surgeries represented in the model, it is a unique way to utilize surgical expertise that is focused on emergent and acute problems. The purpose of this article is to make the reader aware of this model of surgical care, and to consider the advantages to incorporating this into their own environment. It is unclear if this practice paradigm, which is remarkably attractive to graduates of US general surgery training programs, will become more international in scope.